The Promised Neverland – Episodes 2 & 3 (Review)

The premiere of The Promised Neverland is the beginning of a beautiful adaptation of the tragic story of orphans intended to be served up as a meal for demons. Emma and Norman accidentally stumbled upon this truth in the first episode but what can these young children do about their fate? They plan to escape with all of the other kids of Grace Field House.

Episode Two begins to dive deeper into the psychological horror fans like myself fell in love with. Mom shows up at random moments and it becomes known that she’s aware of an orphan discovering the truth, though she doesn’t quite know that orphan is. Later, Emma and Norman decide to tell Ray the truth and he takes it far better than expected.

Episode 3 introduces a new baby orphan and Sister Krone, Mom’s new assistant. Before long it becomes apparent that Sister Krone has an agenda of her own to become a Mom much like Isabella, or rather…replace Isabella. Emma, Ray, and Norman come up with a plan to make the younger children stronger for an escape.
As a person that has read every volume available in the U.S. as of yet, a lot of small things truly foreshadows significant moments of the story. Things I didn’t pick up on as I read make a lot more since now and is either heartbreaking or extremely infuriating but I won’t spoil any of that until they finally happen on screen. The best part about watching as a fan is the fact that it still manages to feel authentic. Mom’s well timed scares, the arrival of Sister Krone, and the overall despair of the story is only enhanced by the anime adaptation much like Kakegurui rather than the tendency to just go, “I know what’s going to happen next so what’s the point of watching.” Episode Three has moments where the animation drops in quality but only for brief moments. Thankfully the intensely psychological game of tag with Sister Krone makes up for it. Episodes Two and Three further adds mostly beautiful animation and a dedication to telling the story accurately. The future of The Promised Neverland only grows bleak but I can’t imagine anyone tuning into the Winter Season hating this show. Even the closing song is pretty damn good.